Links Around the Web

ON WRITING:

Over at Ellen Oh's blog, Author Erin Bowman tells us the best writerly advice she'd give to her younger self:

A day is a decent chunk of time: 24 hours, or 1,440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. No matter how you slice it, it’s the same. So if you love something, start carving and shaving and gathering. Round up that time and make it happen. The only person holding you back is yourself.

Author Susan Dennard gives great advice on the differences between macro and micro show versus tell, and when to use either:

I think of showing as happening on multiple scales—macro, micro—and in various storytelling aspects—plot, character, setting, etc. Let’s break this down.

Chuck Palinuk has a wonderful article on how to remove "thought" verbs from your writing:

From this point forward -- at least for the next half year -- you may not use "thought" verbs. These include: Thinks, Knows, Understands, Realizes, Believes, Wants, Remembers, Imagines, Desires, and a hundred others you love to use.

As a plot-centric author, I adore Author Janice Hardy's post about how to make readers care about plot-centric characters:

So many writers face this issue. Having the protag care about someone or something the reader doesn’t really know, and needing them to care. It might be a person (a missing sister, a kidnapped wife, a lost mother) or a thing (an item of power, an important keepsake, a family heirloom), but unless the reader also wants the protag to find/get that person/thing, it can come across flat and boring. Excitement comes from caring.

ON PUBLISHING:

Agent Kate Schafer Testerman has a great post on how to determine if you are ready for querying:

So! You’ve been doing your research on literary agents, and you’ve narrowed down your extensive list of agents who represent your genre to agents who seem like they would like your novel in particular. You’ve double-checked the listing you found on Agentquery.com or Publishers Marketplace with the agent’s own website for the most up-to-date submission guidelines. You’re ready. Right? Well, maybe not.

On the other hand, Carolyn Kaufman asks, Are you ready for The Call?

To help you prepare further, here's a big list of questions to consider asking, cobbled together from around the web!